Good matching key to today's fashion: Italian expert

What do a Richmond skirt and a pair of Zara pants have in common? In the current fashion world, "good matching" is the key, a renowned Italian fashion entrepreneur told Xinhua in an interview Tuesday.
Speaking of the just-concluded Milan Fashion Week Men's Spring/Summer 2012, Saverio Moschillo, whose group owns international top brands and boasts 24 showrooms worldwide, said the ability to pair expensive items of clothing with more inexpensive pieces is what it takes today to be an "up-to-date" man.
"Though catwalks showed more rigid standards in the past, a globalized society exists now where fashion lovers can pick their best choices among a large variety of styles, according to their tastes, personality and -- not last -- their income," he said.
In this way, a top-brand pair of jeans can be worn with a cheaper T-shirt, and a nice but not too expensive skirt can be paired with a chic and expensive jacket, Moschillo said.
What is most important in such a complex world is "being able to interpret one's role," -- in other words, "behaving properly in the right place at the right time, with courage and sacrifice," he said.
This is exactly how Moschillo, who is also the vice chairman of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion, set out at the beginning of his career.
"When I was only a student, the father of a friend of mine, who was a fashion salesman, took me by chance to a meeting with a client," he recalled.
As they arrived earlier than expected, the salesman decided to take a nap and asked Moschillo to wake him up after a while.
"But he was sleeping so soundly that I didn't dare to wake him up. I met the client instead and we did great business," he said.
The Western world, however, is now going through difficult times, he said.
"Italy does not enjoy anymore the optimistic atmosphere of some thirty years ago, nor the huge opportunities of the time I was young," Moschillo said.
Yet the fashion world, he added, is what still makes the so-called "made in Italy" -- which can be defined as entirely designed and produced in the Mediterranean country -- something that is universally loved.
In Italy, the entrepreneur said, the fashion world records a yearly turnover of 65 billion euros (93 billion U.S. dollars).
"In 2010, exports of the sector increased by 17 percent from the previous year, and they are expected to grow by 35 percent next year," he said.
Therefore it is a real shame that fashion companies are not paying enough attention to nurturing talents anymore, Moschillo said, as "young talents represent the future of 'made in Italy' as well as of the entire country."
Moschillo is trying his personal best to promote future fashion talent: In the Milan headquarters, the fashion entrepreneur is striving to help talented designers enter the fashion world.